Facade of Michael Graves' Postmodernist Portland Building Dismantled in Preparation for Recladding

Facade of Michael Graves' Postmodernist Portland Building Dismantled in Preparation for Recladding

Work has begun on the dismantling of the facade of Michael Graves? iconic Portland Building, part of a $195 million project that could see the building lose its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

Work has begun on the dismantling of the facade of Michael Graves? iconic Portland Building, part of a $195 million project that could see the building lose its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

Often recognized as the first built example of civic-scale Postmodern architecture, the Portland Building was completed in 1982 for the relatively low cost of $28.9 million (including furnishings), instantly putting Portland on the map as a city of progressive design ideals. Housing the city?s municipal offices, the building was most notable for its graphic painted concrete and tile facade, which rescaled and flattened elements of classical architectural.But over the years, seismic deficiencies and water intrusions issues have plagued the structure, requiring constant maintenance, including a large renovation to fix cracks in the lobby and food court just 8 years after its opening.These issues led the city to investigate how to best improve the site in 2014 ? considering options as drastic as demolition. But in 2015, after fightback from preservationists as well as Michael Graves himself, the Portland City Council settled on a reconstruction plan that aims to preserve the building?s appearance, while replacing original materials with contemporary updates.A rendering of the future Portland Building. Image via Next Portland

On the tower?s body, the existing concrete facade will be overclad with an aluminum rainscreen system painted to match the original composition, and the existing tinted windows will be replaced with a more transparent glass, while the stucco garlands along the side of the building will be reformed in aluminum. At the building podium, the existing teal tiles are being replaced with new terracotta rainscreen tiles twice the size of the originals.Other changes include the partial infilling of street level loggias with aluminum storefront systems and the repurposing of the underground parking garage into a fitness center and bicycle parking.

International architectural preservation organization Docomomo responded to these proposed changes, noting that the project may set an unfortunate precedent for the treatment of future architecturally significant buildings: ?The preservation approach for this building is precedent setting, and unfortunately the contempt for the aesthetics of post modernism (or perhaps the misunderstanding of post modernism entirely) clearly drov...

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